President's Perspective - spring 2012

Ann MacKenzie, OFNC president

Part of the Naturalist Family

Organizations, like people, need to have a sense of their place relative to others. It gives them guidance regarding what they should or should not be doing, when to speak up, when to play an active role and when to let others lead the charge. So, where does the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club fit with respect to the larger naturalist community?

First, let me clarify that I am speaking about field-naturalists clubs and not the myriad of other environment-related organizations around.

In very simplistic terms, and as you probably know, Nature Canada is responsible for issues at the national level and, therefore, headquartered in Ottawa. Ontario Nature is responsible for issues at the provincial level and, therefore, headquartered in Toronto. Clubs like ours focus their attention at the local level where they are located.

What does this mean for what we do? Obviously, it would not be appropriate for us to launch a national campaign on a nature-related issue. However, it is our place, even our responsibility, to lead the charge in our own backyard. For example, we are currently putting in place a team for Lac Deschênes Important Bird Area.

Lac Deschênes was designated an Important Bird Area as part of a global initiative managed in Canada by Nature Canada and Bird Studies Canada. For the designation to have real meaning a lot more work is needed. You will be hearing more about this as we start work on determining boundaries, developing conservation plans, raising public awareness, etc., along with our sister organization across the river, Club des Ornitholoques de L'Outaouais. Under the umbrella of the national program, we will be working to protect our own territory.

Ontario Nature is also an important piece of this jigsaw puzzle. It is composed of many affiliate clubs such as ours as well as having numerous individual members. The OFNC is a member, pays membership/affiliate dues and gets benefits such as group insurance. If you are not already a member personally, then I would urge you to join. Ontario Nature produces a first-rate magazine on issues pertinent to the naturalist's scene in the province. Their annual general meetings are always informative and a lot of fun. This spring the meeting is being held close to us, making it easy and cheaper to attend than some years. It will be held June 8-10 at the Opinicon Resort near Chaffey's Locks. Check out their website for more details.

As stated before, Ontario Nature raises issues of provincial concern or gives a provincial slant on broader issues. Recently they were circulating a petition to change the Ontario law that currently allows for the hunting of snapping turtles, a threatened species. We were promoting it at our monthly meetings and on our website.

One of the interesting aspects of Ontario Nature is their regional groups. The OFNC is part of their Ontario East Region. They organize meetings twice a year to allow for the sharing of information, best practices, addressing common problems, etc. In addition, this allows the clubs in the eastern part of the province to know each other better and sometimes help each other. You may have occasionally noticed joint outings with these other clubs. While the OFNC put funds into the purchase by the Nature Conservancy of the Wolf Grove property in Almonte, it was the Mississippi club who agreed to manage it. Good team work. The Kingston club is responsible for the Owl Woods on Amherst Island, but our club has always enjoyed outing there. Last year we supported them in their study of how best to manage the woods. Again, working together for shared values.

The relationships, projects and connectivity between all these players ebbs and flows depending on the issues needing attention, the current leadership, and competing priorities. Overall there is a lot going on. As someone who is interested in naturalist issues, I urge you to at least check out the websites of these organizations. You will be impressed at the scope of activities and the passion behind them.